Wayne Williams Trial

Justin Lee

Wayne Williams Trial

Justin Lee

Wayne Williams Background

Wayne Williams was born May 27, 1958 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were both schoolteachers. He attended Fredrick Douglas High school and went to college at Georgia State University after dropping out a year later. When Wayne was 16 he spent a lot of time marketing his radio station. Wayne started his killings when he was 21. From October 1979 to May 1981, Williams murdered 28 black children between the ages if 7 and 15. Wayne was labeled as "The Atlanta Child Killer", or "The Atlanta Monster".

Evidence on Wayne Williams

The most important evidence against Wayne Williams was the hair and fiber evidence on him and his victims. Some fibers from a brand of carpet found inside the Williams home had been identified on several bodies. Most of the evidence on Wayne Williams was circumstantial, meaning that the evidence was not directly from an eyewitness or paricipant and reaquires some reasoning to prove a fact. The main prosectuion evidence was tiny fibers found on the bodies and matched to rugs and other fabrics in the home and cars of Williams' parents. There was no evidence of sexual assault on the victims, but it was probably Wiliams' main motivation.

The Fiber Evidence

Dog hair and fiber evidence was retrieved from the rear of his vehicle and ended up being a major part of the investigation. The FBI matched fiber samples found on his victims with some of the places Williams was at according to eyewitnesses. One of the main reasons Williams was incarcerated was the fiber evidence found on the victims and Williams' car. When people argue about how important fiber evidence is they bring up this case because the fiber really linked Williams' and his victims.

The probability

Once all the fibers were identified, from the carpet company and from his car the chances were so high it had to be conclusive that Wayne Williams was guilty of the crimes.

West Point Corp. Carpet

There were multiple amounts of green fibers found on the victims. The FBI found out how much the carpet was sold in the ATL area and they figured out how rare the carpet actually was. Since the fibers fell off in a small period of time they made the conclusion that it was very likely that it was from Wayne Williams' home.

Timeline & Outline of the case

On July 21, 1979 Edward Hope Smith was Willimas' first victim. From July 28, 1979 to around March 13, 1981 he murdered 20 children most of the children were found and strangled. On May 22, 1981 on Cobb Drive police stop Williams' and question him. On July 21, 1981 Williams' is arrested and charged with the murders of Nathaniel Carter and Jimmy Payne. On January 19, 1982 fiber evidence is accepted and used on the Wayne Williams Atlanta Child Murders Trial. On Feburary 27, 1982 Wayne Williams is found guilty of the Atlanta Child murders.